Apples Recipes

In my opinion, your Valentine essentials consist of anything with chocolate; it's sort of the unofficial sponsor of Valentine's Day. But chocolate isn't always given, and if your special someone isn't a chocolate lover (hard as that may be to believe), I have an alternative dessert. I prepared a hazelnut cream apple tart with a hidden layer of mulberry preserves that I canned last summer.

I'm sure your sweetie will be appreciate your sweet (no pun intended) gesture and that these little drool-inducing sweets will create special memories in his/her heart.

My girlfriend is coming over for lunch after we work out together and she's not a chocoholic, so I've had to rethink my normal dessert selection. This light pastry should get the job done. In French, it's called gâteau invisible aux pommes. By its name, you've probably already guessed that it's a dessert made exclusively of apples. I would say it looks like a healthy version of a Dobos torte. They're sliced paper-thin and coated in a delicate, evenly-distributed, layer of cake batter. This creates a light, multi-layered apple cake. The apple slices are so thin, it makes the cake almost translucent once baked. The apples are soft, almost creamy. The hardest part is to wait to let it cool and set.

In English, it's called drunken apple cake because it's traditionally covered with a caramel sauce (I often serve it with a caramel au beurre salé sauce) or a crème anglaise topping (light, thin, pourable custard) but I wanted to keep the dessert healthy so I substituted berry coulis using the strawberries from our garden. I haven't been able to harvest any apples yet though (I need to wait at least 2 more months for these!).

I am beyond excited the weekend is here. This means it's dessert time and that my husband Lulu will be home after a week-long business trip. Lulu has a weakness for sweets so I'm sure he won't have any complaints about this apple tart.

This French dessert is one of the easiest tarts to assemble, with only about 5 ingredients. It has an apple- sauce filling and is brushed with apricot preserves at the end for a shiny look.

2012 has definitely been a life-changing year for me. Yesterday, I underwent the Naturalization Oath Ceremony at the Heritage Theater in Campbell, California, and along with 403 other people from 63 different countries, I became a citizen of the United States of America. As I recited the Pledge of Allegiance for the first time as an American citizen, I felt very emotional. It's been a long journey. Vice Mayor of the city of Campbell, Evan Low, greeted us and made a wonderful speech. He's such a passionate and energetic citizen. He's a fourth-generation American and he talked about the wonderful opportunities this country has given his family, including the ability to contribute and engage in the community and to do his part to shape the country.

I was particularly moved by his comments on the diversity of cultures and backgrounds that we share with each other, especially here in California. It meant all the more for me, given that my baby daughter was in attendance, as I am of French-Vietnamese descent and my husband is Indian-American.

If you had asked me before, I would always have said that 2000 was the best year of my life. I was a young engineering student who found an internship in Silicon Valley for the summer and I met the love of my life. But I have to admit that this year is rising up the charts. I've watched my little girl grow up into a very entertaining six month old, I've become a U.S. citizen, and I have one more exciting announcement: I've been given the opportunity to publish my first cookbook at the end of the year! It's been a dream of mine to write a book, and it was kind of surreal when I was approached about it earlier this year.

I just finished the manuscript so I'm beyond excited to be able to share the news with you! I'm truly living my American Dream. I'd like to say a heartfelt thank you to every single one of you, my readers, for sending your lovely messages of encouragement and for being such faithful followers of my daily cooking adventures. I've been sharing my everyday life with you for the past three years, and it's given me the opportunity to cross paths with many wonderful people along the way. It's been an amazing journey. So merci!

Now back to my favorite subject, which is food! Being a freshly minted American, it just felt right to make an apple pie, though of course, with my own twist. The tart crust is made with cream cheese. The pie is covered with diced apples and pecan crumbs and to make the dessert more visually appealing, I topped it with sliced apples and brushed them with apricot preserves at the end.

And finally, since Memorial Day weekend is upon us, I'd like to take the opportunity to thank our soldiers who have fought and continue to fight for our freedoms. God Bless America!

I lovefoie gras. I don't get to have it as much since moving to the States, but I received some from my very kind friend Steve over at The Milk Pail Market. And if you like this French delicacy, you will love what I accompanied it with. I sautéed diced Granny Smith apples in the rendered fat from the foie gras. It's a very simple dish but for sure will wow your Valentine if s/he likes refined French cuisine. My foie gras poêlé aux pommes Granny Smith is a delight.

The best part is that there are not a lot of ingredients involved in this dish. I simply used foie gras, Granny Smith apples, freshly pressed apple juice, apple cider vinegar and a little chicken stock. For a contrast of crunch you could add coarsely chopped hazelnuts with a drizzle of hazelnut oil as garnish. Toasted gingerbread would also make a great addition.